Body contour apparel



Dec. 15, 1959 c. G. WHITE BODY CONTOUR APPAREL Filed March 13, 1959 2v Q a Qa INV ENTOR.

` ATTORNEY CLYE WHITE ""4 f-Szr.:

BODY CDNTOUR APPAREL Clyde G. White, Spartanburg, S.C.

Application March 13, 1959, Serial No. 799,161

'5 Claims. (Cl. 12S-522) This invention relates to ladies foundation apparel and more especially to a contour pad or bustle adapted to remedy undesirable depressions or deficiencies in the human ligure.

It is an object of this invention to provide an article of wearing apparel of the class described which may be applied to that portion of the body having a depression or deficiency in shape, so that a contour conforming to body lines will be provided over which outer garments may be fitted.

It is another object of this invention to provide a contour pad which may be made of silk, satins, cotton, rubber, foam rubber, or of suitable synthetic materials, and which is tailored with a concave inner surface suitably conforming to the imperfect body portion to be corrected, and which also has a substantially convex outer surface conforming to the corrected body portion. Although the article disclosed is especially useful in correcting form deficiencies a persons buttocks and hips, it is evident that the invention may be employed on other portions of the body having deficiencies in shape.V

The primary purpose of the contour apparel is to round out scant or straight buttocks and hips and thus produce a more perfect figure at these points. For example, where a person has a shallow space between the hips immediately below the waist line, that is a sway back, an extra small contour pad of the type herein disclosed, may be employed in this area to keep the clothes from receding and thereby provide the desired exterior contour.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will apear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is an elevational view of one face of my improved contour apparel;

Figure 2 is an elevational View looking at the opposite face from that shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 3-3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a schematic sectional view taken along line 4-4 in Figure l;

Figure 5 is a schematic sectional view taken along line 5 5 in Figure l;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional detail View through the tie strap of the contour apparel, and showing the male portion of the associated snap fastener;

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional detail view through the tie strap, and showing the female portion of the snap fastener, and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to the lower portion of Figure 3, but showing a modified form of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 denotes a tie strap having snap fastening means comprising male and female elements 11 and l2 secured in the opposite ends of the strap, respectively (see Figures l, 6 and 7). Strap 10 comprises an elongated ffice exible sheet of material folded upon itself to form an inner ply 14 and an outer ply 15, said plies having their lower edges hemmed as at 16 and 17. The upper edge of the strap is sewed adjacent the fold line as at 18. At the outer ends of the strap 10 a line of stitches 19 secures the plies 14 and 15 and the hems 16 and 17 together, whereas at the intermediate portion of the strap the folded upper edge of a base layer 21 is secured between these hems by this same line of stitches 19 (Figure 3).

Base layer 21 is approximately rectangular in shape and has its lower corners rounded. Like: strap 10, layer 21 is of two-ply construction and is formed from a sheet of material folded upon itself to provide two plies 22 and 23, the lower and side edges of said plies being provided with hems 24 and 25, which hems are secured together along line 26 by suitable means such as stitches. Plies 22 and 23 are similarly secured together along line 27, spaced inwardly from and substantially parallel to line 26.

In order to impart a concavo-convex shape to the base layer, as well as to the completed article, suitable pleats or folds 30 are formed in the upper portion of the layer by means of stitch lines 31. These pleats extend inwardly from the marginal edge of the layer and taper to a point in such a manner that curvature on the inner surface will be produced substantially conforming to the portion of the body to be corrected.

In each of the embodiments of the invention the base layer has ve layers superimposed thereon, which layers progressively decrease in area and have: similar shape and construction. It is evident, however, that any number of layers can be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention is further characterized under certain conditions of use by spacing the marginal edges of each superimposed layer inwardly from the marginal edges of the layer therebeneath. Under other conditions of use, it may be desirable to space only certain of the edges of adjacent layers apart while positioning the remaining edges flush or even in an overlapping position.

superimposed upon base layer 2.1 is a layer 33 which is similar in shape to the base layer, but smaller in area. Layer 33 is positioned so that its lmarginal edges will be spaced inwardly from the base layer in such a manner that the desired contour will be imparted to the outer surface at said edges. It is evident that this contour may be varied by shifting the position of the superimposed layer relative to the base layer before securing the layers together, or by varying the number or sizes of layers.

The construction of layer 33 is similar to that of base layer 21, and comprises a flexible sheet of material folded upon itself to form plies 34 and 315. The lower and side edges of plies 34 and 35 are provided with inturned hems 36 and 37, which hems are secured together along concealed stitch line 38. The hems 36 and 37, as well as the lower and side marginal edges of plies 34 and 35, are sewed to base pad 21 along line 39 spaced inwardly from and extending substantially par allel to concealed stitch line 38. Layer 33 is secured adjacent its fold line to the base layer 21 by a line of stitches 40.

In the same manner as described in connection with base layer 21, the superimposed layer 33 is provided with a plurality of inwardly extending pleats or folds 42, which folds are formed in the upper edge thereof by means of stitch lines 43 to thereby impart the desired concavo-convex shape to the layer. The overlap of these pleats or folds may be varied, or the numberl of 'such pleats or folds varied, to produce various degrees of concavity ofthe inner surface` of; the article. Likewise, the convexit'y of the outer'surface ofthe article may be varied by varying the number of pleats and the pleat overlap and also by varying the number of superimposed layers.

A second superimposed layer 44 is secured to the first superimposed layerA 33 with its marginal edges spaced inwardly from the marginal edges of said first layer. Layer 44 comprises a sheet folded upon itself to form plies 45 and 46, said plies being sewed to layer 33 by stitches 47 disposed adjacent the fold line. The lower and side edges of plies 45 and 46 are provided with inturned hems 48 and 49, which hems are sewed together by a line of concealed stitches 50. The hems 48 and 49 and the lower and side edges of plies 45 and 46 are secured to the first superimposed layer 33 by means of a line of stitches 51 spaced inwardly from and substantially parallel to concealed stitches 50.

A third superimposed layer 53 is secured to the second superimposed layer 44 with its marginal edges spaced inwardly from the marginal edges of said second layer. Layer 53 comprises a sheet folded upon itself to form plies 54 and 55, said plies being sewed to the layer 44 by a line of stitches 56 disposed adjacent the fold line. The lower and side edges of plies 54 and 55 are provided with inturned hems 57 and 58, which hems are sewed together by a line of concealed stitches 59. The hems 57 and 58 and the lower and side edges of plies 54 and 55 are also secured to the second superimposed layer 44 by means of a row of stitches 60 spaced inwardly from and substantially -parallel to concealed stitches 59.

A fourth superimposed layer 65 is secured to the third superimposed layer 53 with its marginal edges spaced inwardly from the marginal edges of said third layer. Layer 65 comprises a sheet folded upon itself to form plies 66 and 67, said plies being sewed to layer 53 by a line of stitches 68 disposed adjacent the fold line. The lower and side edges of plies 66 and 67 are provided with inturned hems 69 and 70, which hems are sewed together by a line of concealed stitches 71. The hems 69 and 70 and the lower and side edges of plies 66 and 67 are also secured to the third superimposed layer 53 by means of stitches 72 spaced inwardly from and substantiallyl parallel to concealed stitches 71.

A fifth and last superimposed layer 75 is secured to the fourth superimposed layer 65 with its marginal edges spaced inwardly from the marginal edges of said fourth layer. Layer 75 comprises a sheet of material folded upon itself to form plies 76 and 77, said plies being sewed to the layer 65 by stitches 78 disposed adjacent the fold line. The lower and side edges of plies 76 and 77 are provided with inturned hems 79 and 80, which hems are secured together by a line of concealed stitches 81. The hems 79 and 80 and the lower and side edges of plies 76 and 77 are also secured to the fourth superimposed layer 65 by means of a row of stitches 82 spaced inwardly from and substantially parallel to concealed stitches 81.

Figure 8 shows a modified form of the invention. Like reference characters will be applied to parts in the modified form which are identical to parts in the preceding yform and no further description will be made of these parts. Additional reference'characters, however, will be employed to describe the structural changes.

In thevmodiiied form, each superimposed layer is sewed to all of the layers or plies beneath it. Stated differently, each superimposed layer has its marginal edges sewed to all other layers and plies having greater surface areas. Thus, superimposed layer 33 is secured to base layer 21 by a line of stitches 39; superimposed layer 44 is secured to layers 33 and 21 by a line of stitches 84; superimposed layer 53 is secured to layers 44, 33 and 21 by a line of stitches 85, and so on until the article is completed.

Although the layers and plies of the contour apparel herein disclosed are secured together by a continuous stitch`| line, it is to be understood that other securing means may be employed such as tacking; or in cases where the layers are made of rubber or other plastic materials, vulcanizing and similar processes may be employed to form a bond in lieu of stitches.

In the drawings and specification, preferred embodiments of the invention are shown, and although specific terms are employed they are not intended for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A iiexible hip contour pad comprising, a multiply tie strap, a substantially rectangular two-ply base layer formed of pliant material folded upon itself, one face of said base layer constituting the inner pad surface and adapted to fit adjacent the hip of theV user, a row of stitches securing the folded marginal edge portion of said base layer between the plies of the tie strap, a plurality of other pliant substantially rectangular two-ply folded layers superimposed upon the opposite face of said base layer, the marginal edge of each of said superimposed layers being spaced entirely within the marginal edge of the adjacent underlying layer to thereby provide a stepped substantially convex outer pad surface tapering inwardly from the marginal edge of the base layer, another row of stitches securing the marginal edge of each said superimposed layer to at least one other underlying layer, and a plurality of pleats extending inwardly from the marginal edge of said base layer and from the marginal edge of the adjacent layer superimposed upon the base layer to thereby provide a pre-formed concave inner pad surface.

2. A exible hip contour pad comprising, a substantially rectangular base layer of pliant material, one face of said base layer constituting the inner pad surface and adapted to fit adjacent the hip of the user, a plurality of other pliant substantially rectangular layers superimposed on the opposite face of said base layer, the entire marginal edge of each of said superimposed layers being spaced inwardly from the marginal edge of the adjacent underlying layer to thereby provide a stepped substantially convex outer pad surface tapering inwardly from the marginal edge of the base layer, means securing the marginal edge of each said superimposed layer to at least one other underlying layer, and pleats formed in and extending inwardly from the marginal edge of said base layer to thereby provide a pre-formed concave inner pad surface.

3. A iiexible contour pad having a substantially convex outer surface comprising, a base layer of pliant material, one face of said base layer constituting the inner pad surface and adapted to fit adjacent the body of the user, a plurality of other layers of pliant material superimposed on the opposite face of said base layer, said superimposed layers progressively decreasing in area from the inner base layer toward the outer pad surface, the entire marginal edge of each of said superimposed layers being surrounded by the marginal edge of the adjacent underlying layer to thereby provide a stepped substantially convex outer surface tapering inwardly at all points from the marginal edge of the base layer, and means securing the marginal edge of each superimposed layer to at least one underlying layer.

4. A flexible contour pad according to claim 3 wherein the marginal edge of each superimposed layer is stitched only to the adjacent underlying layer.

5. A flexible contour pad according to claim 3 wherein the marginal edge of each superimposed layer is stitched to each of the underlying layers.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 741,184 Taylor Oct. 13, 1903 888,992 Furnas May 26, 1908 930,081 'Osborn Aug. 3, 1909 1,004,893 Morris .....Oct. 3., 1911 1,600,410 Hartman Sept. f2,l, 1926 

